Monkey business on Australian highway

IT'S A CIRCUS: A trio of monkeys escaped from their Stardust Circus trailer after a crash and ran onto the highway.

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Traffic was already a circus across New South Wales as holidaymakers hit the road en masse - and then three performing monkeys joined the fray.

The monkeys, which perform for Stardust Circus, were being driven along the Princes Highway south of Wollongong on Thursday afternoon when the Nissan Patrol towing their trailer crashed into a concrete barrier about 2.45pm.

A police spokesman said the monkeys escaped from their trailer and ran onto the highway at Bombo, creating confusion among holidaymakers.

The trailer was travelling in a circus convoy and handlers quickly recaptured the animals, which were not injured.

Two south-bound lanes were blocked while the crash site was cleared, and the monkeys continued on their journey south to Batemans Bay, where the circus is due to perform on Saturday.

The 21-year-old female driver suffered minor injuries and was discharged from Shellharbour Hospital on Thursday night.

The crash caused a two-kilometre traffic jam on the Princes Highway at Bombo, one of many traffic snarls experienced by frustrated motorists across the state.

Queues heading north on the Pacific Highway at Kempsey on the north coast hit 23 kilometres on Thursday and 16 kilometres at Bulahdelah, between Newcastle and Port Macquarie.

But Dave Wright, from the NSW Transport Management Centre, said traffic was expected to ease on Friday.

"We are expecting some heavy traffic again today but I doubt it will be to the extent that we saw yesterday," Mr Wright said.

He said Thursday was the second busiest day on the roads during these Christmas holidays. Queues were longer on the Saturday before Christmas.

"Usually we have two big days of holiday traffic, and we have already had them," Mr Wright said.

However he said it would only take a few crashes or break-downs for the congestion to build in some places.